Archive for sheep

How do you measure success? I believe Americans judge one’s success by the size of their mortgage or house. I want us to break the paradigms of societal norms and judge success by freedom. Imagine being debt free. If not debt free then without being a slave to debt by having a minimal amount that allows control over spending and the ability to go anywhere.

As little as 100 years ago, when my grandfathers were children it was not expected to own a house. Homes were required for farmers, but many people were transient laborers. For them a bed roll and a horse had more practicality than “bricks and sticks” planted in a single locale. Prior to World War II Americans were far more agrarian and lived on larger lots to homestead. Cities were dense in population and apartments ruled the day. My great grandmother ran a boarding house for coal miners. Boarding houses are now lost to another time.

Immediately following World War II came the invention of “suburbia”. Starting in Levittown, New York anyone could buy the new American dream – a house. I refer to these early, 1,000 square foot structures as apartment with thick walls: grass. Denser than rural areas, but more spacious, a new living arrangement was sold to the American people. Fueled by a rapid shift in post war production to automobiles the time required to travel distances were shortened significantly. Families could escape urban lifestyle and commuter to work.

It was in the 1950 we began training future generations to believe happiness was measured by their subdivision, brick facade, and picket fence. Along the way our parents stole freedom from us. We could only be judged successful when we had a job, married, and bought a house. Not buying a house, and quietly enslaving ourselves to 30 years of payments three times the amount of the original principal, meant we were failures. Once purchased a cycle of accumulation was required; consumerism built through the fifties and sixties by a never ending flow of cheap, meaningless merchandise from countries never heard of.

The 1990s brought us “McMansions” – homes of epic proportion. With 4 and 5 bedrooms, game rooms, media rooms and excessively large bathrooms accelerated by easy money financing anyone could look like a Vanderbilt. Again, judgment of failure fell upon those failing to keep up with the Jones’. Furthermore, Americans found need for storage units to keep all of their stuff: the trinkets bought at stores like Garden Ridge and Pier 1. My personal opinion, two stores that supply absolutely nothing anyone needs, but distribute trinkets made through near forced labor.

In 2008 financial mayhem fell across our country and housing sales stopped. To this day the National Association of Realtors reports we have bottomed out and housing is recovering. Fortunately, data exposes lies and their story has yet to come true. In February 2013, five years into the Great Recession, housing sales totaled 131,000 for the entire month when backing out investor and foreclosure sales. It is again now I ask again, “does debt or a mortgage determine one’s success?” Of course, success is personal. Judged by others though it continues as an expectation; we must own homes to meet society’s norms. My wife and I are pushing back.

We recently moved to Florida to be near my kids after being forced away in 2009. We had planned to buy a house until we started looking. It was appalling what our money would buy: shoddy construction for $300k, homes ten feet from the neighbor’s for $275k, and a piece of dirt for $70k, or an effective $280k per acre. Why, because the Fed’s $85billion per month quantitative easing feeds a desire for cheap money. Lastly, what if something changes? In other words job opportunities, job loss, society degradation, illness, or any other reason. Why would we want to be anchored to 5,000 square feet of Volusia County Florida?

So how do we gain freedom? Break the mortgage race: if debt is required don’t commit to dirt. I’ve seen too many people pass opportunities during the Great Recession because they were connected to a house, not a “home” with their family. A house is just the container, a home is the programming delivered inside. Thus, a compromise to take our home where we want to go can bring the best situation. For now LeeAnn and I are foregoing bricks and sticks containers for one with mobility. We will see in six months how it feels and whether we moved far. Regardless, knowing we can brings peace.

What are you reading these days? Where do you get your news? How do you continue to improve yourself?

I work to read books and learn everyday. I recently wrote in this blog how I use an e-reader to gain time and read more books. Previously I have written about using Google Reader to subscribe to RSS news feeds from blogs. This is essentially where 100% of my news contact and outside world comes from. Lately, I have been working on more professional development and tried Coursera – an online, free access tool to take college classes.

I want to share some outstanding links to help give professional development ideas to you:

This one was on the Under30CEO.com web site. It is a list of outstanding blogs to follow:

I am a numbers guy. I feel numbers, and only numbers, give the facts behind any story. “Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” – Aaron Levenstein.

I watch the news regarding the stock market, polling of the electorate, budget numbers, and the health of the economy. The media reports numbers with fanfare, but when digging deeper most are just adjustments to prior months. As an example, in the last four years there has not been a month when the unemployment numbers have not been adjusted upward, worsened, than first released. However, the media does not celebrate the worsening numbers.

As I move through this column, let’s start with this. There are 314,000,000 people in the U.S. and just over 7,000,000,000 in the entire world.

I am convinced most people allow life to happen and never examine “time”. We all awake everyday with the same amount of time, how we choose to use it is what matters.

As I contemplated this topic I started to go a direction that all of us are equal because we all have the same amount of time. Pissing away time then becomes our own fault, for instance watching “Honey Boo Boo” instead of developing ourselves. Even cleaning the house could be a more productive use of time. Questionable uses of time:

– A teenager sleeping until after lunch, thus losing a significant amount of a day in her life whereas another teenager may attend an SAT preparation class during the same Saturday morning hours.

– Drunken recovery from a hangover. This one is tough because most of us have been there. Hungover we are nowhere near productive and may miss work just to sleep off bad decisions.

– Television. I assert no other invention in the history of the world has sucked away so many possible meaningful hours. Do we need to watch reality shows? Remember Jerry Springer? Enough said.

I realized I might be wrong about time. Even though we all start the day with the same number of hours our economic circumstances impact the value we can extract from the hours in the day. If one’s survival depends on working there may be no free time for any other endeavor. Similarly, wealth, or more income, can free time by allowing payment to others whose time is worth less. An example would be an attorney paying someone to keep his lawn mowed. The $50 per week paid to the landscape company is roughly equal to 15-20 minutes of revenue generating time working as an attorney. Thus, the three hours that attorney would spend mowing his grass on a Saturday is now time away from his family or other interests.

Time. We all do start the day with the same 24 hours. I believe the key is to prioritize and find the important tasks in our life. If higher education is desired then turn off the television and go to school at night. Time with family on weekends can be gained by skipping a ballgame on television or awaking earlier.

I just found time to write this column, 20 minutes by skipping a nap on an airplane flight.

One of my favorite bloggers is James Altucher. He constantly harps on the lack of value currently presented by higher education. Sadly, many people miss what I believe is his key point: education debt is stupid unless you can pay it back. In our current society there is a mentality that you must have a degree to succeed in life and there are no other alternatives. I do not think this is true. More important, if a degree is sought and debt is incurred there should be a return on investment.

An example of a bad decision is a liberal arts major taking on $100k in debt a private school when the same education could be had at a public institution, in-state, for a fraction of the cost. Similarly, anyone attending a for-profit corporate university should seriously question the process. These schools exist only because the federal government has insured the repayment of their tuition fees and they feed on chuckleheads willing to get a shoddy degree with no understanding of the repayment process. If the schools themselves had to collect debt they would readily go out of business. If the students understood how bad these institutions are they would go out of business.

Considering the above I recently shared a conversation with my friend Hal Rice about college alternatives. We both have a plethora of children who will seek education. I have no plans, and believe no parent should have plans, to fund the education of my children. I am a believer in self-sufficiency and struggle to drive desire and appreciation. In our conversation I said the career advice I would give to my children is as follows (counting down) for the top 10 best jobs.

Before reading there are a few key points worth mentioning:

– Unless you are a Kennedy, no one gives a shit where you went to college when getting a job. They just want to see a degree

– Unless you went to an Ivy League school, again, no one gives a shit where you went to college

– If you are a professional (lawyer, doctor, engineer, etc) and have a license to practice then no one gives a shit where you went to college

– You should never take on any more debt than the one-half average starting salary of one year’s wages. You are a dumbass if you do

– Liberal Arts degrees are useless unless you want to be a teacher. Thus, if you spend more than $15k to get a liberal arts degree you are a chucklehead

– There is nothing wrong with a trade profession: carpentry, auto repair, air conditioning, etc. The key is to learn a skill the COULD be translated to other industries

– Most important, live life and focus on happiness

(10) Military career. As an NCO it is possible to find a job function to ultimately translate to private industry. Electronics training, aircraft repair, or aircraft approach systems come to my mind. After 25 years retirement will supplement a civilian career with benefits for life.

(9) Lawyer. Pick a fourth tier law school and pass the bar. Focus on a district attorney job first to get some experience and then go to work in a small town in a small practice. Connect with local CPAs and financial planners to do Wills and Trusts. Get to know the real estate people and manage property transactions. With some divorce and drunk driving clients and charging a reasonable rate this is a well-respected and affordable career.

(8) Computer Programmer. Tough competition from abroad for this career but high incomes provide an excellent return. Still in demand though but the challenge is to keep up with changing technology. Expertise in a particular industry can provide a career for life.

(7) Aircraft Repair. Tough but doable and not a bad life. Setup shop at the right airport and keep your license current you can have a career. This can be in general aviation or take someone to the airlines. Remember, the airplane does not fly if maintenance is not completed.

(6) Air Conditioning Repair. In the south (Florida, Texas, Arizona) this one is hard to beat. If it’s 100F outside people want their A/C fixed and you have them. A skilled person with some business savvy and customer service attention can build a nice local business.

(5) Pastor. OK, here is a special job and one that won’t make you rich, unless you are a televangelist. Everyone loves you. Generally you have benefits and a decent salary. You won’t be rich and have to work weekends. But, if you can write and like people this is a great career.

(4) Local Insurance Agent. Specifically, State Farm or Farm Bureau. Everyone in town loves this guy and he knows everyone. Join Kiwanis, Rotary, church, and knock on doors. Insurance is the gift that keeps giving and giving. If you sell a life policy there are residuals. Sell property and you get a small piece annually. It is hard to beat this job. No degree needed….

(3) Optometrist. Again, does insurance matter with these guys – no. Have you spent $500 on eye glass frames? If your glasses break are you going to wait until you have money to replace them? No, you have to see. Follow the orthodontist education route below.

(2)Veterinarian. My vet doesn’t take insurance, does yours? I dropped $200 on my “free cat” last week because he is the family pet. Follow the same path to education success for an Orthodontist.

(1) Orthodontist. I am now paying for braces and these guys are brutal. $5000 per mouth, no matter what. There is no negotiation, they are immune from insurance, they setup in any town in America, and appear to be recession proof. A public school will provide the basis to get into dental school and then go off-shore. Get a cheap education, come back for residency and get your license.

Opportunities confront all of us each day but too often the door is closed without ever stepping forward to take a chance. Writing this column my inspiration comes from concern for those I watch missing chances to take advantage of new paths in life. After many observations I have concluded there are two distinct reasons people reject opportunity: fear and inaction.

President Roosevelt said, the “Only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and nothing sums up the reason opportunities are rejected than his infamous saying. When faced with a new challenge many people will create unfounded fears that prevent them from considering a change. For example, an elderly person may reject a free airline ticket to see her grandchildren for fear of dealing with unknown airports, but yet millions of travelers face that fear every travel day. Similarly, overcoming unemployment may be impossible for the fear of moving from established roots, but yet thousands migrate to locales like North Dakota and Nevada to save their families.

Second to fear is inaction and is best exemplified by Einstein’s famous quote, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I assert inaction is far easier than action. Thus, when faced with opportunity the effort to take action will succumb to the ease of inaction and the door to opportunity will close. By example a high school student may pass on a college application or a standard test due to the effort required and her laziness is then rewarded by the status quo. Likewise, a job opportunity may be passed because leaving a spouse in a current job is easier than searching for a new job when total income could increase.

Often it is easy to observe the opportunities friends and family miss, but impossible to realize when the same occurs personally. Daily I believe each of us are presented opportunities, some consequential and most trivial. The critical trait is to recognize when opportunity knocks and to, at a minimum, give consideration. Understanding fear and inaction as the obstacles to grasping opportunities helps right a course in our lives from status quo to prosperity and adventure.

My challenge to you this week is to assess every choice as a new opportunity and to understand how fear and inaction could contribute to saying no. Alternatively this week consider how facing fear and taking action could open doors normally closed. “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” – Sun Tzu.

I planned to write this column about three weeks ago, feeling it would be prophetic. However, due to personal time constraints I did not have a chance to get pen to paper until this past weekend. By then my worst fears were materializing; the media created frenzy around “potential threats.” One must understand the premise of false terror and political needs to keep feeding the “monster”. George Orwell explains this in 1984 as Emmanuel Goldstein; America’s Goldstein is Al-Qaeda.

My heart goes out to all families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. Likewise, my heart goes out to the other losses in the same year and annually since then. Statistics make a case for where real threats lie, not the hype pushed at us every evening and in newspapers. On September 11th there were 3,116 Americans killed in the four airliner incidents. The Department of Homeland Security did not exist, and we were not at war in Iraq or Afghanistan.

By comparison in 2001 there were 17,448 alcohol related fatalities and 42,116 total traffic fatalities – more than ten times the number killed the morning of 9/11. In 2001 there were 16,037 murders and 90,863 rapes. The numbers show far more people were killed in 2001 by preventable causes than the significant events of that morning. However, like any tragedy the knee-jerk reaction was to mobilize the U.S. military to capture Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. History reflects Saddam had nothing to do with the attacks and it took nearly ten years to flush Bin Laden out of a luxury home in Pakistan. Meanwhile twice as many military personnel have been killed as the number of deaths that morning and an unstoppable monster called “Department of Homeland Security” now employs 200,000 and has a budget of $98 billion dollars. Sadly, even with this monumental effort to fight the “war on terrorism” preventable deaths occur and the civil rights of ordinary Americans are violated daily as collateral damage to the Patriot Act and DHS overreaching tactics to ensure safety.

I grew up in the Cold War, believing a nuclear winter would start in 20 minutes; similarly our children are growing up in a government induced façade of terrorism occurring any minute. Willfully new generations have learned to submit to security scans at public events, show papers, and give away freedoms. On the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, ten years from now, will we be living a pre-9/11 lifestyle or one of further submission? The next time you see law enforcement violating any American’s 4th Amendment Rights – executing searches of vehicles, bags, and even identification – ask yourself what the real threat is: government or foreign terrorists.

I am angry because it appears no one knows what is going on around them with deficits, rising fuel prices, Islamic radicalization, and Middle East uprising. The most twisted issue is an American society willing to tax food, clothing, and shelter, at the same time as supporting 44-million Americans on food stamps all while watching media celebrities like Charlie Sheen make fools of themselves. It cost an extra “Andrew Jackson” to fill my car today and the mainstream blames fuel prices on the Middle East, but that’s far from the truth. A middle-school look at the readily available data shows a more fundamental reason for the rise, one destroying our lifestyle and future.

Rising fuel prices are simply attributed to three factors: monetary supply, supply and demand, and speculation. Speculation is based on fear in the market which is driven by political unrest around the world. Supply and demand is a direct consequence of emerging economies, hurricanes in the Gulf, or destruction of Middle East oil assets. Although the Middle East uprisings are dominating news reports daily, the current rising prices are truly a function of monetary supply. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speculated on QE2 in August 2010 and it was officially announced November 4, 2010. Each week I graph crude oil prices and up until August prices were relatively stable, but immediately following QE2’s speculation fuel prices started to rise, increasing more after the official announcement. With the devaluation of our currency, OPEC announced a desire for higher fuel prices to effectively capture the same income. Today’s Middle Eastern uprising is a secondary issue exacerbating the underlying cause of rising fuel prices. Blame our government and central bank, not those fighting for civil liberties.

The solutions being thrown around by political pundits from both sides make no sense and demonstrate politics’ need-to-please, not realistic solutions. Opening strategic reserves is anecdotal to a giving a cancer patient a band-aid. “The Long Emergency,” as James Howard Kunstler writes, has begun and political unrest, failed monetary policies, and a third-world desirous of the same excesses we enjoy will continue to drive oil prices upward. I am angry pop-culture nonsense Tom Brady’s hair and Gaga’s breast milk ice cream exploits resonates more importantly than the collapse of our currency. On November 10, 2010 I wrote, “Gasoline should easily reach $3.40/gallon by April as OPEC is demanding a minimum $100/gallon.” I am angry no one listens.

My daughter’s homework recently piqued my interest while she was studying for an exam. Currently, she’s taking an American Government class; learning about types of government like authoritarian, dictatorship, oligarchy, and democracy. During our studying though we came to a handout that forced me to question today’s teaching as it focused on explaining the role of government. It is this question that divides left and right, Democrat and Republican. Personally I have a strong libertarian view which believes in a very limited role of government.

Reviewing her handout I learned there are seven roles taught to today’s students: defense, taxation, judiciary, education, health care, transportation, and economy. I wondered how many Thomas Jefferson would include on the list and speculated three: defense, taxation, and judicial review. Seeking a more definitive answer I found only defense and judicial protection receive consensus and without taxation the rest of the list cannot exist. Sadly, I think our country has reached a crossroads in development: we can have freedom and independence to control our lives with no government involvement but risk personal loss and failure, or we can mutually combine all of our earnings and share the bounty regardless of productivity to protect our entire society against any calamity that may befall us.

I believe the second option has been tried repeatedly throughout history and most recently by the idealist Karl Marx in a quest to end class struggles; recognizing the needs of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. Modern communism expanded on the efforts of Marx’s writings with Lenin and then Stalin accelerating its spread; dictatorial regimes use communism to disguise their own human rights atrocities. Many would claim the U.S. has recently failed at the longest running experiment in capitalism and laissez faire economics allowing business to overrun the working class. However, a quick glance at American history confirms anyone, regardless of status, education, or connection can succeed to enormous wealth, unlike communist nations allow. Successes like Bill Gates, Larry Page, and Jeffrey Bezos abound and even Presidents Clinton and Obama come from the poorest of backgrounds and family struggles.

Ayn Rand concisely describes the role of government “as, the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others.” I believe the role of government is to allow me freedom of choice – to succeed or fail

A discussion about nationalized healthcare cannot take place without mentioning tort reform. In essence, the thought is ‘reducing litigation or damages’ will reduce costs to healthcare. Of course, we could assume that would translate to all industries. Everyone remembers the lawsuit against McDonalds for serving hot coffee, spilled by the consumer. The initial amount of damages awarded was almost $3 million… and was eventually settled out-of-court for $600,000.

Similarly, businesses face threats of lawsuits daily from falls in parking lots or stores, misuse of products, or frivolous acts. A rampant industry of “legal theft” has been created by the television and billboard lawyers fishing for clients who may have an ailment never before considered, but with marketing and awareness suddenly thousands can suffer from imaginary problems, become part of a class lawsuit, and make money. The real winner is the law firm making millions in fees and taking a significant portion of the award.

Movies like “Erin Brokovich” and the many John Grisham novels/films have reminded us of the sympathetic need for our ability to litigate. In these blockbuster films the destitute win against the big, bad corporation and remind us they are evil and must be punished. In other parts of the world citizens cannot sue for millions and must bear the cost of legal fees when initiating a lawsuit and the defendant’s costs – should they lose. Neither method is perfect and creates unintended consequences. Americans appear frivolous and greedy in seeking justice and other countries appear to favor the big company over the individual.

Unfortunately we all face other consequences of our system. Imagine driving your car down Flagler Avenue and having a bicycle run into you. Several weeks later you may find a television lawyer serving you with a lawsuit. Regardless of fault, your insurance company will pay, not even argue the case, as the lawyer pursues an endless income stream from legal extortion. Similarly, a professional license is jeopardized by frivolous complaints and legal fees; to defend proper decisions can cost tens of thousands. Imagine the numbers professionals in the financial industry accused of “losing money” during the collapse of 2008-2009. Of course, the likes of Bernie Madoff permanently tarnished the reputation of those exercising due diligence.

Regardless of fault, a system of arbitration to bypass the expense of discovery should be established, especially on an individual basis. Principles costs money and often settlement to find personal peace through dismissal is a better option, but a feeling of admission of guilt is created when no guilt is present. “I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.” – Thomas Jefferson